Sofa bed



SOFA BED Filed oct, v, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 30, 1940. v M. FOX 2,209,880

SOFA BED Filed Oct. '7, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 30, 1940 SOFA BED Martin Fox, Chicago, llL, assignmto The Seng Company, Chicago, IIL

Application october 7, 1939, serial Nn. 298,481

4 claims. (ol. 5-47) My invention is an improvement in sofa beds of that particular type in which the two sections forming the seat and back in sofa form and the mattresses in bed form are hingedly connected together and mounted on a supporting frame in such manner as to provide for movement ofthe sections in converting the article of furniture from sofa to bed form and vice versa.

In the construction of sofa beds of this general character the usual manner o! mounting the movable sections on the supporting frame requires the shifting of the entire article of furniture vin converting the same to the different uses for which it is intended; that is to say, in changi'ng from sofa to bed form it is necessary to move the sofa away from the wall, near which it may be p1aced,. in order to acconmiodate the lowering of the back in positioning the back and seat on a horizontal line with each other to form the coml panion mattress sections of the bed, for the reason that the rear section or mattress of the bed projects a greater distance beyond the frame than when arranged to form the back of the sofa. It is therefore the main purpose of my invention to provide a particular construction of supporting means by which the sections are mounted on a supporting frame that will effect amovement of the seat forward in the operation of lowering the back to bed form, whereby said section will project only a slight distance or approximately to the same extent as when in sofa form, thus permitting theV article 'of furniture to remain in a permanent position near the wall.

My invention also contemplates a set `of metal fixtures, for each end of the sofa bed, that will provide for easily and conveniently converting the article of furniture from one form to the other by manipulation of the seat, the supporting means being such in the present instance that the movable sections will counterbalance each other during the shifting of the seat and back.

With these principal objects in view my invention consists primarily in 'the provision of supporting levers pivoted to the supporting frame and to the plates by which the movable sections of the sofa bed are connected together, one o f the supportinglevers having a longitudinal movement on the supporting frame, as hereinafter fully described and more specifically set forth in the appended claims. i

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating the application of my invention, the 'sections being 55 arranged in sofa form.

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the sections arranged in bed form.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation illustrating an intermediate position of the sections in making a 60 change from one form to the other.

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the bearing plate attached to the supporting frame, and

Figs. 5 and 6 are detail perspective views of the hinge plates. t

The supporting means or metal fixtures in` accordance with my invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings as applied to that type of sofa bed in which the movable sections I0 andV I I--forming the seat and back of the sofa and the companion mattresses of the bedare mounted for operation in a supporting frame comprising a base I2 having an upstanding end piece I4 at the opposite ends thereof, the base and end pieces constituting a framework that is usually upholstered in completing the article of furniture. It is customary to have the base in the form of a box to provide a 'storage compartment for pillows and other bedding needed when the movable sections are arranged in bed form, while rthe upstanding end pieces serve a dual purpose by providing the head and'foot pieces of the bed in addition to serving as arms for the sofa, and in the construction of the base apartition board I5 is spaced from the end board I6 at each end of said baseA for supporting the metal fixtures and to locate the working parts within auxiliary compartments beyond each end of the storage compartment.

As the movable sections or parts I0 and II of the sofa bed form the mattress of the bed as well as the seat and back of the sofa they are preferably of the box spring type for the attachment thereto of the hinge plates I1, I8, said hinge rplates being secured to the inner or adjoining ends of the sections and pivoted together at their upper ends by pin I9, one of them beirig offset, as at 20, so as to overlap the other, and vin the present instance hinge plate I8 is provided with `a rearward extension 2| at its lower end Afor the purpose hereinafter explained.

In carrying out myinvention, and in order to cooperate with the particular construction of hinge plates, I employ a main supporting lever 22 rising from a plate 23 attached to the partition board I5 to which it is pivoted at its lower end by fulcrum pin 24, the upper end of said lever being pivoted on the pivot pin I9 connecting the hinge plates together. For the purl pose of permitting longitudinal sliding movement of the fulcrum 24 in respect to the plate 23, and thereby provide for movement of the seat and back sections in converting the article of furniture from sofa to bed form, and vice versa, the fulcrum pin works in a longitudinal slot 25 in the supporting plate. Furthermore, to control the movement of the rearor back section I I, and serve alsoA as an additional support for the same, an auxiliary lever 26 is pivoted to the rear end of the supporting-plate and to the outer end of fil the extension 2l of hinge plate I8, with the two supporting levers connected by a link 21. This connecting link is pivoted at one end to near the lower end of the main supporting lever 22 and at its other end to near the upper end of the auxiliary supporting lever 2B. The arrangement of the supporting levers and connecting link with respect to the hinge plates and supporting plate, including longitudinal movement of the main supporting lever, is an important feature of my present invention, for the reason that this arrangement not only provides for an easy operation in converting the article of furniture but also obviates the necessity of moving the sofa bed away from the wall when it is to be changed from sofa to bed form.

By reference to the drawings it will be noted that the plate on the base structure, from which the supporting levers for the movable parts of the sofa bed extend, is stamped outward longitudinally at its intermediate portion so as to accommodate the head at the inner end of the fulcrum pin 24 which moves along the slot in the operation of the sections. It will be noted also that section IU in sofa form rests at its forward end on the front wall of the base or storage compartment and is supported at its rear end by the upstanding lever 22 connected to the hinge plates, with section II or back of the sofa supported by said lever and auxiliary lever 26, the connecting link serving to properly` position the parts in this arrangement.

The hinge plates are provided at their lower ends with inwardly projecting flanges 28, 28, to reinforce their attachment to the movable sections, the said flanges extending under the bottom of the box enclosing the springs (not shown) ordinarily employed in sofa beds of this type, and to reinforce the attachment of the plate 23 to the base it is also provided-with an inwardly projecting flange 29 bearing on the upper edge of the partition board.

An automatic latch is employed for locking the movable parts at an angle to each other when in sofa position and 'during the operation of converting from sofa to bed form, but as the particular construction of latch forms no part of my present invention any conventional form of automatic latch may be employed, such as ndicatedin dotted lines in Fig. 3.

In the operation of converting the sofa bed from sofa to bed form the seat is drawn forwardly a shortI distance and tilted upwardly causing the two sections to assume the position illustrated in Fig. 3, with one counterbalancing the weight of the other, and then the lowering of the seat on to the base will automatically lower the back or rear section by reason of the auxiliary lever and connecting links so that both will rest on the base in a horizontal position in bed form, with the main supporting lever in connection with the hinge plates serving to rmly support the companion mattress sections where they approximately come together near the longitudinal center of the base, or intermediate the front and back thereof.

It will be understood that the metal ixtures for accomplishing the purposes hereinbefore stated will be made of sturdy metal for durability, and for ease of operation the fulcrum pin is provided with a roller (not shown) traveling in the slot in the supporting plate. It will be understood also that the lower wall of the slot in the plate provides a track on which the iulcrum pin or roller travels. and consequently a track-rail may be employed in place of the slotted plate. Other modiilcations or changes may be resorted to in carrying out my invention within the spirit and scope of the claims.

I claim:

l. Metal xtures for sofa beds for connecting the movable parts together and supporting the same on a base structure, said xtures comprising hinge-plates pivoted together and adapted to connect the movable parts for swinging movement one with respect to the other, a plate for attachment to the base structure having a longitudinal slot, a main supporting lever pivoted at its upper end to the aforementioned pivotal connection of the hinge-plates and fulcrumed at its lower end in the slot, an auxiliary supporting lever pivoted to one of the hinge-plates and to the slotted plate beyond one end of the slot, anda link pivoted to land extending between the levers.

2. Metal xtures for sofa beds for connecting the movable parts together and supporting the same on a base structure, said fixtures comprising hinge-plates pivoted together andv adapted to connect the movable parts for swinging movement one with respect to the other, a plate for attachment to the base structure having a longitudinal slot, a main supporting lever pivoted at its upper end to the Aaforementioned pivotal connection of the hinge-plates and fulcrumed at its lower end in the slot, an auxiliary supporting lever pivoted to one oi the hinge-plates and to the slotted plate beyond one end of the slot, and a link connected at one end near the lower end of the main supporting lever and at the other end to near the upper end of the auxiliary supporting lever,

3. In a sofa bed, the combination with the supporting base and movable parts constituting the seat and back of the sofa and companion sections of the mattress, of supporting means for the movable sections comprising hinge-plates pivotally connecting the movable sections together, a plate attached to the base and having means for supporting a lever for longitudinal movement thereon, a main supporting lever connected at its upper end to the aforementioned pivotal connection .of the hinge-plates and fulcrumed at its lower end on the longitudinal supporting means on said plate, together with an auxiliary supporting lever pivoted at one end to the plate on the base and at its other end to one 'of the hingeplates, and a link pivotally connected at its ends to the main and auxiliary levers for controlling the movement of the movable sections of the sofa bed.

4. Metal xtures for sofa beds for connecting the movable parts together and supporting the same on a base structure, said fixtures comprising hinge-plates pivoted together and adapted to connect the movable parts for swinging movement one with respect to the other, a plate for attachment to the base structure having means for supporting a lever for longitudinal movement thereon, a main supporting lever pivoted at its upper end to the aforementioned pivotal connection of the hinge-plates and fulcrumed at its lower end on the longitudinal supporting means on the aforesaid plate, an auxiliary supporting lever pivoted to one of the hinge-plates and to the plate adapted to be attached to the base, and a link pivoted to and extending between the levers for controlling the movement of the movable sections of -the sofa bed.

MARTIN FOX. 

